Remembrance

One of my grandfathers was a veteran of the First World War. He lost his right arm in France. He often spoke of his experiences, sometimes funny stories, sometimes scary. Almost always poignant. When asked what Christmas was like in the trenches, he simply said, “hard tack and tea.”

A few years ago, for my father’s birthday, we applied for and received a copy of my grandfather’s service record, all the documents associated with his service during the war. It wasn’t very interesting really. His handwriting changed because by the end he had to start signing with his left hand. However, according to the documents, while convalescing in a Toronto hospital he was AWL for five days. He never told me about those five days and I never knew to ask.

We are indebted to all the veterans, those who died, and those who survived (some missing limbs, or other parts of themselves). We are also indebted to the many others who said good-bye to sons and daughters, not knowing if they were to return.

War, no matter how “justified” is always a failure and the only way to appropriately honour the fallen is to continually work for peace. Peace won’t just happen, it is something we need to work for, to pray for and to sacrifice for.

Jesus expects us to pray for and to love our enemies. This is not a lofty, pie-in-the-sky kind of dream, it is a divine commandment to love that which God loves. This compassion, that Jesus taught, is about treating others as I want to be treated. I don’t want my enemies to shoot me or to point nuclear warheads at me. So, maybe we shouldn’t shoot at or threaten them either. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t protect ourselves. We should. But it is to say that, while protection is a natural reaction to a threat we mustn’t loose sight of our primary goal of a more compassionate world. Listen closely to the rhetoric of Remembrance Day and you will hear a deep desire for peace. “Lest we forget” literally means, for fear that we forget.

Nothing honours my grandfather more, or any veteran, than achieving the everlasting peace they desired.